Orcas surprise ferry passengers in Vancouver's False Creek

Orcas near downtown Vancouver Tourists describe the moment they encountered orcas while travelling on a False Creek Ferry.

The people aboard a ferry in Vancouver were treated to a rare sight Sunday.

A pod of orcas swam right by the small vessel in False Creek, metres away from Sunset Beach.

The captain behind the wheel, Jack Hemsworth, says the boat was just past the Vancouver Aquatic Centre when he noticed three dorsal fins. The whales were within 10 feet of the ferry.

“It was pretty surreal,” he told CTV News. “It was pretty crazy just to see how big they really are – they were bigger than the boat.”

Hemsworth said he put the vessel into neutral for the creatures’ safety as the passengers, mostly tourists, experienced “all the emotions at once.”

In a video of the encounter posted to social media by False Creek Ferries, the onlookers can be heard gasping in awe. “What the f***?” one exclaims.

The passengers were pretty stoked because this never happens,” Hemsworth said.

Sunday’s incident marked only the second time he’s spotted killer whales on the job, following a similar incident in 2019. Experts have suggested the orcas probably venture into the shallow waters to hunt for seals.

While these kinds of encounters are still rare, one expert said spotting marine mammals along the shoreline is becoming more common.

“It's a sign, in some way, of just how healthy the ecosystem is to support all these marine mammals,” said Dr. Andrew Trites, who oversees the University of British Columbia’s Marine Mammal Research Unit.

“We've got humpback whales that came back after being gone for 100 years because they're hunted to the point of extinction, we've got gray whales that are coming in,” Trites added. “It's an incredible time to be here.”

The orcas seen Sunday included a mother known as T35-A and her three children, according to the researcher.

The encounter is a good reminder for people walking along Vancouver’s seawall to keep their eye out for unexpected visitors, he said.